Puglia to Sicily
Bondi Tram
Peter Colquhoun and Sandra Colquhoun
Tue 22 Sep 2009 05:58
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We crossed from Croatia to Brindisi in Italy, where we spent a couple of
days because we had to replace
two of our batteries. While we were there we took the train to Lecce,
about an hour from Brindisi.
Lecce is famous for the baroque architecture of its churches and palazzos,
the facade of the cathedral below
being the most notable exampale
  After Brindisi we went down the coast to Otranto, a city which had been
sacked by the Turks
in 1480. 480 citizens were beheaded for refusing to renounce
Christianity and becom Muslims,
and their skulls are tastfully displayed (below) behind glass in a chapel
in the cathedal.
 This is part of the mosiac which covers the floor of the nave...an elephant
as
imagined by the artist who had only heard of and read descriptions of what
an
elephant should look like.
 The small harbour at Otranto, with all the local boats moored in
rows.
 The old walled town of Otranto.
 After Otranto, we went all the way acros the boot of Italy and up through
the Straits of Messina to
Northern Sicily. We spent a couple of days anchored off Cefalu, a popular
summer (August) resort town.
  No surf or sand here, but the water was nice and warm. You can hire an
umbrella and a couple
of sun beds for $15 to $20 a day....I am not sure if you pay extra to be in
the front row!
  The massive rock behind the town is crowned with the remains of a medieval
castle.
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